Insight into high electrochemical activity of reduced La0·3Sr0·7Fe0·7Ti0·3O3 electrode for high temperature CO2 electrolysis

Enhancing the CO2 Adsorption of the Cobalt-Free Layered Perovskite Cathode for Solid-Oxide Electrolysis Cells Gains Excellent Stability under High Voltages via Oxygen-Defect Adjustment

Solid-oxide electrolysis cells are a clean energy conversion device with the ability to directly electrolyze the conversion of CO2 to CO efficiently. However, their practical applications are limited due to insufficient CO2 adsorption performance of the cathode materials. To overcome this issue, the A-site cation deficiency strategy has been applied in a layered perovskite PrBaFe1.6Ni0.4O6-δ (PBFN) cathode for direct CO2 electrolysis. The introduction of 5% deficiency at the Pr/Ba site leads to a significant increase in the concentration of oxygen vacancies (nonstoichiometric number δ of oxygen vacancies increased from 0.093 to 0.132), which greatly accelerates the CO2 adsorption performance as well as the O2- transport capacity toward the CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). CO2 temperature-programmed desorption indicates that A-site cation-deficient (PrBa)0.95Fe1.6Ni0.4O6-δ (PB95FN) shows a larger desorption peak area and a higher desorption temperature. PB95FN also exhibits a greater presence of carbonate in Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The electrical conductivity relaxation test shows that the introduction of the 5% A-site deficiency effectively improves the surface oxygen exchange and diffusion kinetics of PB95FN. The current density of the electrolysis cell with the (PrBa)0.95Fe1.6Ni0.4O6-δ (PB95FN) cathode reaches 0.876 A·cm-2 under 1.5 V at 800 °C, which is 41% higher than that of PB100FN. Moreover, the PB95FN cathode demonstrates excellent long-term stability over 100 h and better short-term stability than PB100FN under high voltages, which can be ascribed to the enhanced CO2 adsorption performance. The PB95FN cathode maintains a porous structure and tightly binds to the electrolyte after stability testing. This study highlights the potential of regulating oxygen defects in layered perovskite PrBaFe1.6Ni0.4O6-δ cathode materials via incorporation of cation deficiency toward high-temperature CO2 electrolysis.

Modulating the Energy Band Structure of the Mg-Doped Sr0.5Pr0.5Fe0.2Mg0.2Ti0.6O3-δ Electrolyte with Boosted Ionic Conductivity and Electrochemical Performance for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Achieving fast ionic conductivity in the electrolyte at low operating temperatures while maintaining the stable and high electrochemical performance of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) is challenging. Herein, we propose a new type of electrolyte based on perovskite Sr_0.5Pr_0.5Fe_0.4Ti_0.6O_3-δ for low-temperature SOFCs. The ionic conducting behavior of the electrolyte is modulated using Mg doping, and three different Sr_0.5Pr_0.5Fe_0.4-xMg_xTi_0.6O_3-δ (x = 0, 0.1, and 0.2) samples are prepared. The synthesized Sr_0.5Pr_0.5Fe_0.2Mg_0.2Ti_0.6O_3-δ (SPFMg_0.2T) proved to be an optimal electrolyte material, exhibiting a high ionic conductivity of 0.133 S cm^-1 along with an attractive fuel cell performance of 0.83 W cm^-2 at 520 °C. We proved that a proper amount of Mg doping (20%) contributes to the creation of an adequate number of oxygen vacancies, which facilitates the fast transport of the oxide ions. Considering its rapid oxide ion transport, the prepared SPFMg_0.2T presented heterostructure characteristics in the form of an insulating core and superionic conduction via surface layers. In addition, the effect of Mg doping is intensively investigated to tune the band structure for the transport of charged species. Meanwhile, the concept of energy band alignment is employed to interpret the working principle of the proposed electrolyte. Moreover, the density functional theory is utilized to determine the perovskite structures of SrTiO_3-δ and Sr_0.5Pr_0.5Fe_0.4-xMg_xTi_0.6O_3-δ (x = 0, 0.1, and 0.2) and their electronic states. Further, the SPFMg_0.2T with 20% Mg doping exhibited low dissociation energy, which ensures the fast and high ionic conduction in the electrolyte. Inclusively, Sr_0.5Pr_0.5Fe_0.4Ti_0.6O_3-δ is a promising electrolyte for SOFCs, and its performance can be efficiently boosted via Mg doping to modulate the energy band structure.

Mutual Conversion of CO-CO2 on a Perovskite Fuel Electrode with Endogenous Alloy Nanoparticles for Reversible Solid Oxide Cells

Reversible solid oxide cells (RSOCs) can efficiently render the mutual conversion between electricity and chemicals, for example, electrolyzing CO₂ to CO under a solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) mode and oxidizing CO to CO₂ under a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) mode. Nevertheless, the development of RSOCs is still hindered, owing to the lack of catalytically active and carbon-tolerant fuel electrodes. For improving mutual CO-CO₂ conversion kinetics in RSOCs, here, we demonstrate a high-performing and durable fuel electrode consisting of redox-stable Sr₂(Fe, Mo)₂O_6-δ perovskite oxide and epitaxially endogenous NiFe alloy nanoparticles. The electrochemical impedance spectrum (EIS) and distribution of relaxation time (DRT) analyses reveal that surface/interface oxygen exchange kinetics and the CO/CO₂ activation process are both greatly accelerated. The assembled single cell produces a maximum power density (MPD) of 443 mW cm^-2 at 800 °C under the SOFC mode, with the corresponding CO oxidation rate of 5.524 mL min^-1 cm^-2. On the other hand, a current density of -0.877 A cm^-2 is achieved at 1.46 V under the SOEC mode, equivalent to a CO₂ reduction rate of 6.108 mL min cm^-2. Furthermore, reliable reversible conversion of CO-CO₂ is proven with no performance degradation in 20 cycles under SOEC (1.3 V) and SOFC (0.6 V) modes. Therefore, our work provides an alternative way for designing highly active and durable fuel electrodes for RSOC applications.